User blog:Captaingoldvane2/2014 - Top 15 Movies/Shows-ah
Since my 2014 movie review will probably never happen, and my 2015 reviews aren't appealing enough for my grand laziness to get to work and write, I decided I'll make a quick blog that I can actually FINISH. With so many unfinished stories and blogs, I want to at least write something short, and to the point. I may have posted something similar to this in a list form before, but I think my opinion will be much more accurate now that I've had nearly a year to re-watch most of these. Here are my top fifteen shows and movies from last year... why merge the two? Cause konk, that's why. Spoilers, of course. 1. The Grand Budapest Hotel Out of all of the films I saw in 2014, none have I rewatched as much as Grand Budapest. It's a perfect blend of comedy, drama, adventure, and even romance. This movie practically defines "quirky." This film has quite a serious story accompanied by a brilliant cast of both comedic and dramatic actors, as well as an environment like no other. One of the most quotable and even possessing one of the best soundtracks, (it did win the Oscar :P) it is absolutely a masterpiece, and, as Dent would say, "MEGA KINK" ... truly. 2. The Guardians of the Galaxy One that I didn't expect to like that much really surprised me in how enjoyable it was. One of the two films I own on Blu-ray from 2014, GOTG was Marvel's hidden success. While some people seem to be tiring from all of the bloated Avengers films, Guardians gave older people some nostalgia with a perfect soundtrack and the younger audience an incredibly funny movie. I really don't know anyone who doesn't like this film. 3. Interstellar Not only is Christopher Nolan's 2014 film a great realistic (more so than others, at least :P) science fiction film, it also possess an emotional and motivational core, something that a lot of space or "syfy" films lack. Sure, it's a bit lengthy and it's a hard one to watch more than once, but it's an incredibly powerful film with intelligent story-writing, great visual effects and a brilliant score. 4. The Imitation Game A bit of an underrated film, Cumberbatch's fall movie set in WWII is a good one-time watch, maybe a good two-timer. It's a heavy hitter with its ending, but the true story gives you a respect and admiration for this tale that was kept from the public from so long. A brilliant performance, an influential, historical plot, and a tough realism complete this educating drama. 5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier Another Marvel movie I didn't expect to enjoy, Winter Soldier is actually my favorite "Avenger" movie, (Cause the Guardians don't exactly count... yet.) even after AOU. A serious tone accompanies this one, with a perfect spring movie that caught people off guard. Despite having a decent villain, (something the Marvel films DESPERATELY need to work on; only three of their villains are even decently portrayed in film) a uniquely powerful musical score, an aaray of well-developed characters, and one of the best car chases in modern films, what makes it the best is the feeling of not being able to trust anyone around you and the massive plot twist that developed throughout the movie. (and that also changed the MCU for many movies to come) 6. Whiplash Despite being quite a depressing movie, Whiplash was an unexpected gem that caught my eye after the Oscars. While I often disagree wtih the geezers, J.K. Simmons certainly put on an incredible performance for this film. As a musician, this one was really deep for me, and I think it's relatable for a lot of people. It's a powerful film with a strong plot that will make you think after you watch it. 7. X-men: Days of Future Past DOFP revolutionized, and, quite frankly, saved the X-men cinematic franchise. They used time travel to erase the bad movies and keep the good ones - screw reboots, they fixed their timeline perfectly! A fan favorite and a really enjoyable summer blockbluster, you couldn't ask for a better X-men movie. 8. Arrow (Seasons 2-3) It surprises me to put this up so high on the list, but when I think about it, 2014 was the highlight of Arrow's quality. When I think of the good parts of Arrow, I think of the ending of Season 2 with Slade and the beginning of Season 3 with Ra's. Between the big showdown against Deathstroke and the buildup and dramatic "death" of Oliver Queen by Ra's Al Ghul, the material in 2014 was really the best of the show. Between its rocky beginnings and slow decline in Season 3, you could pretty much avoid watching the rest of the show and still have a near equally enjoyable experience to someone binging the whole thing. I think, out of all the TV shows, this one surged the most last year. 9. Gotham (Season 1) I looked forward to Gotham all year. As a big fan of the Batman lore, I didn't care if he didn't suit up, I was willing to watch anything related to the fictional location of Gotham City. The show had a lot of ick, and, since this only counts for what happened in 2014, some of its greater moments didn't happen here. It did, however, have a strong start, with great characters and an awesomely established setting. I think the series should get credit just for the atmosphere and the Penguin character. The Flash (Season 1) Another guwd superhero TV show in 2014 was Flash, which started off really strongly with suspense and humor blended together. I feel like this show reached its best around episodes 7-9ish and really proved that superhero shows can thrive. Hell, we got to see two major heroes who we'd never properly seen in live action before fight each other with a decent budget. 11. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes This one had spectacular use of motion capture and exceeded a lot of expectations. This was the action-y summer blockbuster you could turn your mind off and watch. Hell, there's not much dialogue to follow. Still, a good action movie with a somewhat decent story that was good enough to make you care about monkeys. 12. House of Cards (Season 2) The second season of HoC was pretty good, as it dealt with a lot of Underwood's enemies. While the show can be depressing to me, I have to admit that the story writing is fantastic and Kevin Spacey's performance is spot on. This is a very realistic, intelligent show that makes you think. This is probably above the superhero shows in quality of writing, but I wanted to put those higher because, frankly, I enjoyed them more! Still, HoC is worth the watch, especially the second and third seasons. 13. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies For some reason, people really hate the Hobbit movies. I don't know why this is, as I enjoy them just as much as LOTR. I find Bilbo to be much more of an enjoyable character than Frodo, and the visuals have only improved. Granted, they are all very flawed, the Hobbit movies were fun, enjoyable films that shouldn't be criticized nearly as much as they are. This one was far from perfect, but it was still a fun film that I could enjoy and watch a few times over. 14. Birdman This is one that I've only seen once, and I don't plan to re-watch it. It's simply too depressing/heavy to watch a second time for me, but I'm sure there are those who've seen it over and over again. Nevertheless, it has one of the most creative and unique stories of 2014 accompanied by a good cast and an ending that really, REALLY makes you think. If it had some more comedy and/or light moments, it'd be a lot higher on the list. 15. Godzilla Oh, what the heck, I'll include it. I went in with low expectations to this one, but I saw it in imax and it was a fun time. Another brainless summer blockbuster, this one happened to revolutionize the monster genre, hopefully bringing some more intelligence to the style and less sausagery. Category:Blog posts Category:Blog posts